For U.S. pilots, war on the Islamic State is a far cry from 'Top Gun'

Experience is mostly monotonous missions, some small-arms fire

By Helene Cooper, NEW YORK TIMES

September 16, 2015

Photo: Marko Drobnjakovic, STR

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In this Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015 photo, members of a cargo aircraft crew perform a visual check of their passengers as their plane prepares to land on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier currently deployed in the Persian Gulf, supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the military operation against Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) less

In this Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015 photo, members of a cargo aircraft crew perform a visual check of their passengers as their plane prepares to land on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier currently ... more

Photo: Marko Drobnjakovic, STR

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In this Friday, Sept. 11, 2015 photo, a plane captain cleans the windshield of a U.S. Navy fighter jet that sits on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt deployed in the Persian Gulf. The USS Theodore Roosevelt, whose home port is San Diego, California, is a key element of the U.S.-led coalition targeting Islamic State militants. This island of steel in the Persian Gulf some 1,090-feet (330-meters) long is home to some 5,000 U.S. Navy airmen, sailors and Marine pilots, carrying some 70 aircraft involved in the fight against the extremists. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) less

In this Friday, Sept. 11, 2015 photo, a plane captain cleans the windshield of a U.S. Navy fighter jet that sits on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt deployed in the Persian Gulf. The USS Theodore ... more

Photo: Marko Drobnjakovic, STR

For U.S. pilots, war on the Islamic State is a far cry from 'Top Gun'

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ABOARD THE U.S.S. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, in the Persian Gulf - Soon after this aircraft carrier arrived here for its Middle East deployment, two F/A-18 Super Hornets catapulted off its deck for a 6½-hour bombing run toward Islamic State targets in Iraq. In one of the fighter jets was Navy Lt. Michael Smallwood, 28, call sign Bones, and in the other was his friend and roommate, Navy Lt. Nick Smith, also 28, call sign Yip Yip.

For a minute or two that day in May, the Hornets were right next to each other in the sky, but then Smith's plane had engine trouble. Over the radio, Smallwood could hear his friend turn around, try to land back on the carrier and then eject into the Persian Gulf. The $60 million Hornet crashed into the sea.

Smallwood found himself fighting to keep his mind off the fate of his friend, but his orders were to continue climbing and fly on to Iraq. On many such missions, he simply loitered in the skies, dropped no munitions and headed back to the carrier.

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This is the life of the modern day U.S. fighter pilot - long periods of monotony, combat missions that end with bombs still intact to avoid hitting civilians, occasional moments of fear. It is a long way from "Top Gun," the iconic 1986 Hollywood blockbuster that made Tom Cruise a household name and Navy fighter pilots the heroes of adolescent boys everywhere.

But these real-life pilots - the elite of the elite, trained to routinely land on moving aircraft carriers and to refuel in midair - are some of America's main warriors against the Islamic State.

Air support, improvements

In the year since airstrikes against Islamic State began, U.S. pilots have assumed a bulk of the war effort. They have conducted more than 4,700 airstrikes since August 2014 - 87 percent of the manned flights by the U.S.-led coalition - and provided air support for Iraqi security forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters.

The Islamic State may have shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missiles, commonly known as MANPADS for Man-Portable Air Defense Systems. But at the moment, the militant Sunni group does not appear to have the capability to bring down U.S. fighter jets.

"Quite honestly, the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines own the skies," said Maj. Anthony Bourke, a former Air Force fighter pilot. "So even though pilots dream of dogfights, the biggest risk now is small-arms fire, and if you stay above 10,000 feet, you're not going to be hit."

Engine troubles are not the only risk at 25,000 feet. The F/A-18s today require more G-forces than the planes of the "Top Gun" era, and pilots today pull 9 Gs instead of 4 or 5 Gs. It is the difference, they say, between feeling that your head weighs 90 pounds instead of 40 pounds. (Most people's heads weigh around 10 pounds.)

Beyond that, Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria are often in heavily populated civilian areas, which limits the air war to small, remote targets: single trucks, weapons caches and even individual machine guns.

Camaraderie remains

Despite the precautions the pilots say they take, there are civilian casualties from airstrikes, although the number is in deep dispute. Officials with U.S. Central Command, which overseas U.S. military operations in the Middle East, recently said that they had received reports of 31 episodes involving civilian casualties since the airstrikes began and had dismissed 17 as not credible, with six still under investigation.

"When you're called in to deliver a weapon, general world opinion swings very violently against you when you start killing the wrong people," said Capt. Benjamin Hewlett, 46, call sign Pizza, who is the commander of air wing aboard the Roosevelt. He said that in the war against the Islamic State, bombs hit their intended targets almost all of the time. A big part of the reason, Hewlett said, is that there are no U.S. troops on the ground.

"So we don't feel that we have to rush in," he said. "The natural tendency is, our guys are under fire, I've got to get in there. But when you rush a bad delivery, people get hurt."

The big question in the ready room was the rumor that Hollywood was making "Top Gun 2." So what would take the place of the beach volleyball scene with all the "Top Gun" pilots sweating under the California sun?

"Crud," said Capt. Lanier Bishop, 31, call sign Pope.

Crud, he said, is a combination of pool and rugby that fighter pilots play. Pilots use their hands, instead of pool cues, to whip the ball across the table, and then tackle each other for some reason.

There remains a lot of camaraderie. Back in May, Smallwood did not know the fate of his roommate when he finally landed back on the Roosevelt just after 11 p.m., after his 6½-hour strike mission.

As he bolted out of his plane, Smallwood was told that his friend had survived, fished out of the water by rescuers.

"But I still had to run down to the room to see for myself," Smallwood recalled. "First thing I did was hug him."